COLLEEN “The Tunnel and the Clearing” CD

Colleen, a female French multi-instrumentalist/vocalist, releases her first album in about three and a half years (her seventh overall). A beautiful and comfortable masterpiece of experimental pop, it's like a mysterious constellation floating in the air.

■Colline is the solo project of French female multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Cécile Schott, currently based in Barcelona, Spain. After 20 years of creating comfortable, enchanting, and mysterious music, she has released her seventh album, The Tunnels and the Clearing, her first in about three and a half years. This is her most fragile yet confident album, composed of meditative, swirling organs processed with analog electronics, steady drum machine syncopation, and unique singing voice.

■From music box-based albums and treble viola da gamba-centric albums to electronics-centric albums, her music shares a surprising dreamy, contemporary quality. In the early stages of the creation of The Tunnels and the Clearing, Schott limited herself to using analog electronic instruments such as Elka Drummer One, Roland Space Echo, Moog synth Grandmother, Yamaha organ, and selected Moog effects. This limited instrumental selection was inspired by years of listening to Jamaican and African music, where musicians are challenged to maximize their creativity with minimal tools. And, remarkably, the deep emotional complexity and textural density of The Tunnels and the Clearing is achieved almost entirely through live playing and processing.

■A musical journey that ends in clarity as you exit the tunnel. "The Tunnels and the Clearing" is a work of clear awe.

■Track list